Saturday, February 4, 2012

One last game to play

The Super Bowl is tomorrow. The way the tabloids in New York are hyping it to the moon, you'd think it was a life-or-death struggle. It isn't. It is New York vs. Boston for all the marbles, for the 2nd time in 5 years in The Big Game.

For the New England Patriots, it is about revenge, times two. Not only is it about payback for losing 4 years ago, spoiling a "perfect" season tainted by scandal and charitable officiating in key games, but for a Week 9 loss at Foxborough in November, ending a lengthy home winning streak that also benefited from charitable officiating. Tom Brady aspires to be among the great QB's in Super Bowl history, right up there with Joe Montana & Terry Bradshaw, the latter now a Fox analyst, both of whom won 4 Super Bowls. Brady is tied with another Fox analyst Troy Aikman, better known to other folks as Hulk Hogan's sidekick in those Rent-a-Center ads, with 3. None of those wins has been a blowout, and neither will this one.

For the New York Giants, it is to prove that win in November was not a fluke, and their QB, Eli Manning, can back up his pre-season boast of being among the league's elite. The overanalysis of his statement was done to death well before November, but he has mastered the art of the 4th quarter comeback, a Montana specialty. David Tyree, Steve Smith, and Plaxico Burress are gone, but now you have Mario Manningham, Hakeem Nicks, & Victor Cruz.

The Pats' defense has been suspect most of the season. Their defensive front has stiffened at the right time, but the secondary is another story. Vulnerable to the big play? Yep. They have to hope their front four can rattle Manning, but at the same time, the Giants have to get around the Patriots' offensive line and their propensity for holding---and not getting called for it 90% of the time. They hassled Brady last time, threw him off his game. I look for more of the same.

I have friends who have rooting interests on both sides. The Patriots lost my respect a long time ago, making this pick an easy one. Air traffic control would be on full alert if this game wasn't played indoors, but it will be a track meet. The Giants win again, 31-30.